This is my grandmother Virginia DeVoe. Being the eldest child, I remember most details of this photo. Her glasses corrected the only thing that masked her younger beauty, slightly crossed eyes. In this photo she had cancer -- she died at age 45. She wanted to be called Nana.

The bookends are indeed a pair. My mother, her daughter, left the "thinking man" to me. The other was unfortunately decapitated in some household accident. To this day the latter sits on my fireplace mantel. I don't know what the green book is, but the black one is a Rudyard Kipling collection. The Etch-a-Sketch was a shared treasure. The book was a gift for me. My first. I spent many days and nights reading to my brother and sister. My mom drew the oriental pen and ink which was sadly lost in the late '80s. My Nana could sing like a bird, and sang me to sleep many times. I believe the tinsel was put on quickly because we kids may have decorated the tree with her. Never one to change things, she left it as is.

how Tony's grandma got so pretty!

Tony,

This was my grandma on Mom's side. She died when I was very young. The bookend stayed with us for years, as did the statue drawing that my mom drew. Aunt Connie has it now.

Love Dad

Notice the blood red details in this picture; fingernails, tree light at the top left, the Etch-a-Sketch and the box (?) on the desk. What's with the sparsely decorated tree and the way the tinsel and what seems to be spray snow are clumped in the middle??

Thanks for the close-up. Now I'm obsessing over the books. The only one I can make out for sure is Elmer Gantry; probably a paperback reprint of Sinclair Lewis's 1926 novel issued to coincide with the 1960 Burt Lancaster film version. The big green textbooky one is driving me nuts, though. Oh, we also see the traditional pine cone with glitter and tiny ornaments glued on. Apparently every house had at least one back then.

If she changed the specs, this could be today.

It is indeed a pair.

Somebody got an Etch-A-Sketch. Maybe this was about the time I got mine. Also, this carpet seems to be channeling our carpet from thenabouts. I also like the The Thinker bookend; can't quite make out if it's one of a pair.